Digital marketing is a key component of all of our clients’ marketing strategies. So when I was given the opportunity to attend this year’s Hero Conf to learn about new pay-per-click (PPC) tactics and strategies on the rise in 2019, I jumped at the opportunity. This year, the focus of Hero Conf was to understand which tactics are most impactful for each part of the marketing funnel and platforms like Facebook.
Keeping It in the Facebook
Our clients have experienced great results with Facebook over the last year utilizing two types of conversion campaigns: landing page conversion and lead form conversion. As such, I was excited to sit in on Kass Botts of Hanapin Marketing’s session on creating an entire lead gen nurture strategy within Facebook.
First, Botts spoke about prospecting, which is best defined as offering your best top of funnel content to your target market. This could include a video demonstrating brand value, canvas-style ads creating a full-screen experience or a lead form directing the prospect to educational gated content.
Source: Kass Botts, Hanapin Marketing | Keeping it in the Facebook (Platform)
Senior Living Tip: We have historically used lead form ads to encourage prospects to become a VIP or subscribe to email marketing for our Facebook campaigns. When testing brochure downloads in a lead form ad versus a sign-up form, we’ve seen significant decreases in conversions for the brochure download. For this reason, we recommend using a simple sign-up form. It’s a lower level of commitment for prospects and more likely to get them to convert.
The next insight focuses on structuring your retargeting ads. Botts recommends using one of the following calls to action (CTAs) in order to influence conversion: sign up for a demonstration, contact us, get a free trial or schedule a consultation. I agree with this approach, especially for a more lifestyle-focused sale, such as independent living apartments. Of course, you will want to tailor the CTA for senior living. Common CTAs in our industry include schedule a tour, speak with a sales rep, request pricing, etc.
Botts concluded the session with some best practices for creating lead forms on Facebook:
- Keep the forms as simple as possible
- Use form questions that can be auto-populated by Facebook
- Prequalify leads by using the high-intent lead form
- Combine lead form ads with video to maximize engagement
- Integrate customer relationship management (CRM) software with Facebook to send automated follow-up upon submission
The Duopoly
Another session that caught my attention was one focusing on growth strategies for YouTube and Facebook videos. Cory Henke of Variable Media presented a video timeline detailing how marketers can optimize viewer engagement, as well as a few case studies on which platform is best for different types of engagement.
As we begin to create more video content for our clients, I’m confident the video timeline is a tool we’ll be using to determine what we should say in our videos, when we should say it and how.
Source: Cory Henke of Variable Media | The Duopoly (YouTube and Facebook) Video Growth
According to Henke’s case studies, YouTube is a great platform for brand awareness and addressing the prospect’s need. When used in tandem with Facebook, it acts as a brand awareness tactic that will help funnel prospects into the interest stage.
We often use traditional media like print, billboards and radio for brand awareness and focus digitally on lead generation. Recently, however, we’ve adapted our approach and have used more modern brand awareness digital tactics alongside traditional ones. As a result, we’ve seen an increase in awareness metrics.
Senior Living Tip: Adding videos to your brand awareness strategy, especially when the community is in the blue sky stage or not well known in the market, can help increase engagement for lead generation tactics like Facebook.
Wrapping Up
And now, with a notebook filled with new insights from some of the world’s leading digital marketers, I’m looking forward to implementing many of these new tactics for our clients and seeing how they impact their results!
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